Thai-Burmese Curry Noodles (Khao Soi). Thailand part 3.

by Sala @ Veggie Belly on June 23, 2010

Before I tell you about this amazing noodle dish I learned to make in northern Thailand, here are more pictures from my recent trip. (And in case you missed my previous Thailand posts, they are here and here).

A Thai Market Outside Bangkok

I visited several markets in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. The format seems to be pretty much the same everywhere – vegetable section, fruit section, then there are some bug vendors (yes, insects), rice vendors, fresh noodle vendors, dessert section and prepared foods section. Every single market I went to was extremely clean and organized.

This one was outside Bangkok, in the suburbs where I was staying with my uncle. So this market wasnt touristy, which is always a bonus.

Left: Sapodilla vendor. Right: My uncles wife Da, on her phone & buying guavas. Da showed me around here and so patiently explained everything and translated for me so I could communicate with the vendors

Left: bugs and insects; I was feeling very Andrew Zimmern-ish. Right: lime, red and green chillies

Pink preserved eggs (Chinese thousand year old eggs or century eggs) and pink noodles

Now lets travel up north to the cool mountains of Chiang Mai, Thailand. Chinese Muslim traders have greatly influenced this region’s cuisine. Their delicious, spicy noodle dish, influenced by Burmese cuisine, called Khao Soi was everywhere in this city. My favorite vegetarian Khao Soi is from Aum Vegetarian Restaurant. in Chiang Mai.

When I took a Thai Vegetarian cooking class at May Kaidee’s, Duan the owner and instructor was kind enough to show me how to make Khao Soi, even though it wasnt on the class schedule. See this post for more on Duan and the cooking class.

Khao Soi, also spelled Khao Suey or Khao Soy, is also eaten in Myanmar or Burma and Laos. The Burmese version of Khao Soi is called Kow Swear or Khauk Swear. From what I understand, the Burmese curry noodles, are also in a coconut milk broth, but use more Indian influenced spices like coriander and do not have the crispy noodle topping. Since both the the Thai and Burmese versions are quite similar, I’m sending this post off to AWED Burma, hosted by Kitchen Swathi

The version I learned to make at the cooking class had shredded chinese cabbage, cauliflower, and tofu. Ive used shiitake mushrooms, baby corn, carrot, zucchini and beansprouts. But I highly recommend adding some pan fried or deep fried firm tofu to this.

If there is an Asian store where you live, that is best place to buy the specialty ingredients for this recipe. But you may be able to find fresh chinese noodles (not the dry stuff) at the regular grocery store. For the pickled mustard greens, you may have to make a trip to the Asian store (if you want to make your own, here is a good recipe).

All the amazing Khao Sois I had in Chiangmai were topped with crispy fried noodles – the best part! I didnt feel like deep frying, so I used store bought La Choy brand crispy Asian noodles.

Heat a large wok with oil. Add shitake mushroom, zucchini, baby corn and carrot and cook on high for about 2 minutes. Then add curry paste and curry powder. Toss to coat the vegetables. Add light soy sauce and cook about 30 seconds so the vegetables absorb the liquid. Then add dark soy sauce, brown sugar, and coconut milk. Let the curry simmer for about 2 minutes.

Then pour in water and bring back to a simmer. Taste curry and adjust soy sauce, and sugar to taste.

Bring a large pot full of water to boil noodles. If using dried noodles, cook in boiling water till noodles are very al dente. If using fresh noodles, boil for about 1 minute. No matter what noodles you use, make sure not to over cook them. Drain well.

Add cooked noodles and bean sprouts to the curry broth.

Serve Khao Soi in individual bowls, topped with crispy noodles. If you dont have store bought crispy noodles, increase the fresh or dry wheat noodles quantity in this recipe by 1/2 cup. If using dried noodles — deep fry this extra half cup of boiled, drained noodles in oil, till golden. If using fresh noodles, deep fry them as is. Then top Khao Soi with the fried noodles.

Amazing pictures as always. I wish I would have gone to some of the food markets Bangkok had to offer, maybe some other time. Love, love, love Thai food, cool eat it everyday. It is one of my favorites…

I’m curious– pink eggs? Was this (along with the noodles) a coloring choice to complement a seasonal festival or holiday, a by-product of a particular treatment, a regular offering that has no other purpose than being pink…?

Thee pink eggs are preserved eggs, also called thousand year old eggs or century eggs. They are greenish brown inside (due to preservation) and are dyed pink on the outside, possibly to distinguish them from regular, fresh eggs.

Ahh! you brought back so many memories.. We went to Thailand for our honeymoon so you can guess that’s one of my most favorite places & Thai food!! Can’t even say more abt it. We also were lucky enough to taste some Khao Soi in Bangkok.
Your’s looks much more beautiful than the restaurant!

I fell in love with this dish 3 years ago when I visited Chiang Mai. I’m still dreaming about it and have vowed to make this one day. Thanks for posting the recipe and your pictures are absolutely brilliant.

Hey… I managed to get meself some crisco but guess what hubby dearest -in his eagerness to help with the cleaning – threw out flour I had just bought with all the trash… Ahhh
On a tangent, you know those crispy rice noodles(they are usually white/transparent) would also look/taste lovely with this recipe… It’s the thing for this weekend…
I somehow have an issue with eating cooked coloured food… I can eat the purple cabbage raw but not cooked… I thk its psychological…